Inside The Bills

Down a starting DT in Stacy McGee and a backup DT Darius Latham due to injury, the Raiders addressed their shortage on their defensive line Saturday.

Oakland called DL Branden Jackson up to the active roster from their practice squad and officially placed CB DJ Hayden on the Reserve/Injured List.

Jackson originally signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent after participating on a tryout basis at the team’s rookie mini-camp. After participating in the offseason program and training camp with the team, he was waived on Sept. 3 and signed to the practice squad the next day, where he spent the first 12 weeks of the regular season.

The 6-foot-4, 268-pounder played four years at Texas Tech, seeing action in 51 games with 38 starts. Jackson totaled 138 tackles (97 solo), 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven passes defensed.

Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio is enjoying a 9-2 season in which very little has gone wrong. One mistake that he admits to making however, is not re-signing Bills pass rusher Lorenzo Alexander.

Alexander was a special teams role player only for the Raiders last season, and Alexander wanted to re-sign with Oakland, but they had different plans in mind. Now Del Rio is regretting their decision seeing Alexander rack up 10 sacks with the Bills so far this season.

“We did not see that in him or we wouldn’t have let Rex get him! I’m really happy for a guy like Lorenzo,” said Del Rio. “He’s a consummate professional. This is a guy that busts his butt, does everything he can, every day to be a true professional. We had him around thinking that’s what we were getting is that, the leadership part of it and honestly, we missed on this part where he’s getting 10 sacks.

“Hats off to him, congratulations to him. The guys that are here that know him are really happy for him. He’s a great young man. Played at Cal right here, it’s a great story for him. I’m super happy for him. I just don’t want him to get it done this weekend, but happy for the year he’s had.”

Alexander wasn’t bitter about being unable to sign with his hometown Raiders, a club he thought was going to do well this season.

“I wanted to come back this year after last season,” he said. “I enjoyed my time while I was there, but (Raiders GM) Reggie [McKenzie] and the coaching staff decided they wanted to go in a different direction. Obviously, they signed a guy like Bruce Irvin there. They had Khalil Mack and they drafted some young guys.”

The Raiders defensive line is going to be short a couple of interior defenders Sunday against the Bills. Already without nickel corner D.J. Hayden, who was put on I-R Friday, Oakland will also be without starting defensive tackle Stacy McGee and his backup, rookie Darius Latham.

The two defensive linemen are out with ankle injuries. Pass rusher Shilique Calhoun is also out for the game with a knee injury.

The Bills won’t be the only team in Oakland on Sunday that will be playing without one of their top cornerbacks. The Raiders will reportedly be putting CB D.J. Hayden on injured reserve.

That according to CSN Bay Area Raiders beat reporter Scott Bair. Hayden has not practiced all week after suffering a hamstring injury in last week’s game. Oakland could be thing at cornerback this week because starting CB David Amerson has been limited in practice this week due to a knee injury.

He quoted Jack Del Rio on the loss of Hayden as “a big blow” to their defense.

DJ Hayden will be placed on season ending injured reserve. JDR: “it’s a big blow.” #Raiders

Last Sunday’s 28-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars was certainly exciting, but the Bills will have to put it out of their mind, because they’re about to face their toughest test of the season, a road game against Oakland. The Bills may have several match-up advantages when they are on the offensive side of the ball this week, so FanDuel players shouldn’t be afraid to deploy any or all of Buffalo’s skill position players.

TYROD TAYLOR – QB – $7,400Oakland allows an average of 273.5 yards through the air, so Rex Ryan should have Tyrod throwing early and often. Against Jacksonville, Taylor only put the ball up 18 times, but you can expect Sunday’s game plan to look more like it did two weeks ago against Seattle, when he connected on 27 of 38 passes.

SAMMY WATKINS – WR – $6,300It stands to reason that if Tyrod’s throwing it, someone’s catching it, and this week, that someone could well be Watkins. Against the Jags, Taylor only gave Watkins three opportunities…but being that Tyrod only had 18 opportunities to throw, that’s not bad. Best of all, Sammy caught all three of his targets, racking up 80 yards and 9.5 FanDuel points. He could be a terrific bargain play.

LeSEAN McCOY – RB – $8,400The Raiders are slightly better at shutting down the run than they are the pass. They allow 116.9 yards on the ground, and on a good day, McCoy can get 116.9 yards in his sleep. Shady is the third-highest priced running back on this week’s slate, but he should be well worth the big FanDuel bucks.

Buffalo will be down another couple of receivers and one of their top cornerbacks against the Raiders high flying offense. Fortunately Marquise Goodwin will be available Sunday after leaving practice early Thursday with a wrist injury.

1 – @ChrisBrownBillsWith the Bills depleted secondary and Oakland’s vertical threat and strong O-Line, what can Bills D do to stop Carr and O?

@BuffSportsFan90CB: The best defense this week is going to be a good offense. Buffalo should be able to run effectively against the league’s 26th ranked run defense. Hopefully that allows the Bills to put together long sustained drives. Converting on third down will be critical to holding onto the ball and limiting Oakland’s possessions.

That’s how the Chiefs beat the Raiders back in Week 6. They held onto the ball for almost 37 minutes and gave the Raiders just 10 total possessions. Teams usually get about 12 per game.

2 – @ChrisBrownBills With so many upcoming free agents how are the @buffalobills with cap space?

Bob Refermat
@lostnascarfan

CB: You’re right. At last count the Bills will have 23 players set to become unrestricted free agents. That obviously takes a lot of contracts off the books for Buffalo. Remember that room under the salary cap is always a moving target. But last I checked for 2017 the Bills are a little more than $20M under the cap.

If they pick up the option on Tyrod Taylor that will obviously impact the cap significantly. We’ll see what their plans are in terms of re-signing their own or pursuing a free agent on the market, but Taylor’s option will play a major role in how aggressive they are in free agency.

3 – @ChrisBrownBills How is Cardale Jones doing? He is likely the number 2 qb next year correct?

Patmerica
@PatBle

CB: Jones is really trying to build his game from the ground up to better fit the NFL game. From footwork, to set up to his delivery. How he scans the field, keeps his feet active, reading defenses pre-snap. Bills QBs coach David Lee has worked tirelessly with Jones to try to develop his game.

The Bills saw this year as a redshirt year for Jones. Lee has him come in early and throw with a couple of receivers early in the week and late in the week after Friday practices. On Thursdays he’ll have him review his Wednesday and Thursday practice tape and go over fundamentals.

They’re working mainly on his intermediate accuracy, his footwork and arm mechanics.

I know the offensive staff has a lot of respect for EJ’s game. Lee said on the John Murphy Show this week that he thinks Manuel’s confidence is at an all-time high and that he’s been ripping it in practice.

Knowing his contract is up, the likelihood of Manuel being back with the team is completely up in the air.

Clearly Tyrod Taylor is the bigger issue to address with his option year at the quarterback position, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Manuel found work elsewhere and Cardale Jones was the backup for 2017.

4 – @ChrisBrownBills

How limited will Sammy be on Sunday? And how will Rex manage playing time between Lorenzo shaq and Hughes?

Justin Trottier
@justintrotts1

CB: Watkins’ availability is going to largely be based on how the foot feels as the game wears on. So it’s a wait and see on the size of his role Sunday. I will say that I think it is beneficial that the game is on grass, which is a more forgiving surface on the body.

As for managing time between Shaq, Alexander and Hughes, the staff tried address that last week against the Jaguars. The defensive staff wants to play Shaq more and cut back on Alexander’s defensive snaps, so they’re able to use him on special teams as well.

Alexander really shouldn’t have much more than 55-60 snaps combined between defense and special teams. Last week he had 70, so again he was over the threshold of where they’d probably like to be with him, knowing he’s 33 and the oldest player on the team.

Shaq’s snap count wound up being identical to that of the Cincinnati game. He got 21 snaps in both. Part of the reason is both games were tightly fought contests and in tight spots you want to go with an experienced player that you can trust. Lawson is still learning the pro game.

Remember he missed the entire offseason on the field. That’s OTAs, minicamp, training camp, the preseason and the first six games of the season. Lawson bit hard on a read option fake, didn’t hold the edge and let Blake Bortles run for a first down and more. Those kinds of plays makes defensive coaches hesitant to use him more as opposed to Alexander, who is one of the smarter players on the team.

Knowing the importance of each game the rest of the way they’d like to use Shaq more because he’s talented, but until he can show an ability to play sound, disciplined assignment football he might be reduced to just passing downs to rush the passer.

5 – @ChrisBrownBills Why aren’t they using Reggie Bush out of back field, swing passes, screen passes, with all WR injuries?

TomLarsen/TheInsDoc
@tomlarsen

CB: It’s a valid question. I thought when they signed Reggie Bush that he would be a specialty player that would be used in an 8-12 play package every week on offense. He could be split out as a receiver, line up in a split backfield with McCoy or return kicks and punts. The signing of Brandon Tate largely eliminated his return duties.

He’s been used sparingly as a receiver and back. I do believe they could make greater use of their ‘Pony’ package, which is their split backfield with McCoy and another tailback. But for whatever reason they have only used it occasionally.

It’s clear they prefer Mike Gillislee, who is a much better north-south runner and capable of fighting for the tough yard. Rookie Jonathan Williams is also better in that regard.

Bush is a player best used in space, which is why they could make use of him in a receiving role knowing the amount of injuries they have at that position right now.

Former NY Jets RB Joe McKnight was the victim of road rage Thursday when he was gunned down sitting in his car at a stop light in Terrytown, Louisiana after a verbal argument with another man.

An eyewitness told NOLA.com that she was leaving a nearby store when she witnessed the confrontation. The woman said a man was yelling at the athlete, who looked like he was apologizing, when he pulled out a gun and shot McKnight multiple times. She said the shooter then stood over the fallen footballer and said, “I told you don’t f–k with me” and fired one more time.

The shooter remained at the scene and was apprehended by police.

McKnight, a former USC running back, was drafted by the Jets in 2010 and coached by Rex Ryan for three seasons in New York. Ryan issued a statement in reaction to the 28-year old’s tragic death.

“Hearing this news about Joe McKnight is just so heartbreaking. He was such a great guy who meant a lot to a lot of people. When he first came to us at the Jets, he was this raw, talented kid. He had some issues as do a lot of guys. Obviously, we know the background, him going through (Hurricane) Katrina and a lot of different things. But he was always determined to get better–better as a football player and better as a man–and I thought he did that. That was exciting for me to see.

“One year when we had Joe we led the NFL in kickoff returns and I thought he was going to go to the Pro Bowl that year and he probably should have. But I was more proud of how he was off the field. When he went to Kansas City he seemed to have changed his life and that was a great thing. I remember when we played the Chiefs he came over and saw me and Anthony Lynn and it was great to see him.

“Joe will be remembered for a lot of good things and I was proud to have known him and proud to have coached him.

“My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to Joe’s family and friends and we’ll keep them in our prayers at this difficult time.”

Bills RB Reggie Bush, a fellow USC running back, took to social media to express his feelings about the passing of his friend and address the troubling results that can come from road rage, as this is the second NFL player to be killed in a road rage incident. Saints DL Will Smith was also shot and killed in Louisiana in a road rage incident this past spring.

But Walt Powell went on injured reserve and Dez Lewis was called up from the practice squad. All the roster shuffling at the position makes it hard to establish rhythm in Buffalo’s passing game.

“It’s tough,” said offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn. “It’s tougher on the quarterback than anybody. You know, he doesn’t create that trust, and…factor. But you just have to make adjustments and move on.”

He was scheduled to participate on a limited basis in Wednesday’s practice, just as he did all of last week, but after telling athletic trainers of soreness in his foot, they pulled him from the practice field and Sammy Watkins did not practice at all Wednesday.

Head coach Rex Ryan has said multiple times they’re going to take a cautious approach with Watkins, and that proved to be the case on Wednesday. As for his status on Sunday, his participation or lack thereof in practice Thursday should shed more light on Watkins’ chances of being available.

Watkins was seen in Buffalo’s locker room and he appeared to be walking just fine. His foot wasn’t wrapped or anything.

Buffalo’s offense is already down Robert Woods (knee) and Percy Harvin (migraines). Neither of them practiced Wednesday. They called up WR Dez Lewis from the practice squad Tuesday after losing WR Walt Powell to an ankle injury. He was placed on injured reserve.

LeSean McCoy is once again up for the NFL’s FedEx Ground Player of the Week award coming off his 103-yard rushing day, which included a pair of touchdown runs in the win over Jacksonville. Here’s who McCoy is up against in the fan voting this week.

Le’Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers rushed for 120 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown in a 28-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Mark Ingram of the New Orleans Saints rushed for 146 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown in a 49-21 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

LeSean McCoy of the Buffalo Bills rushed for 103 yards on 19 carries and 2 touchdowns in a 28-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Every week, following the Monday Night Football game, through Thursday at 3 pm, fans can visit NFL.com/FedEx to vote or tweet using #AirandGround and the nominees’ last name to cast their vote. FedEx and the NFL will announce the winners every Thursday afternoon and then FedEx will award a $2,000 donation in the winning players’ names to The USO.

Bills Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy was recently honored in his native Chicago with an honorary street designation on the Windy City’s north side.

Marv Levy Way was dedicated last week with Levy and his wife Fran on hand for the dedication ceremony. In typical Levy fashion, the former Bills head coach has a bit of humor for those in attendance for the unveiling.

“I just want everybody to know that effective January 1st this will become a toll road,” Levy quipped.

Sammy Watkins came through Sunday’s game just fine. In fact he felt so good he was pining for more time on the field. He got 25 of Buffalo’s 55 snaps on offense. But Buffalo is taking a very cautious approach with Watkins after a two month layoff. So as much as they’d like to play Watkins more this Sunday in Oakland, they’re taking the same approach they did last week as far as practice is concerned.

“I don’t want to place any number on it. Will he get more or less? We’ll just be smart with him,” said head coach Rex Ryan of Watkins. “We’ll be smart through the week as well. We’re not going to overdo it on the practice field. We need him healthy, and recognizing that he had a lot of time off and hasn’t done a whole lot of football activity. So we’ve got to balance that. We all want to get him on the field for the entire game, but I don’t know if that’s the best thing for him and for our football team.”

A hamstring injury suffered in practice last week cost Mike Gillislee an appearance in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville. But head coach Rex Ryan is optimistic that Gillislee will be fit to return to the lineup this weekend.

The Bills put Sammy Watkins on a pitch count during the practice week, but in Sunday’s game they were prepared to go as long as possible with Watkins on the field, provided his foot problems didn’t resurface. The good news on Sunday was they didn’t.

“I built a lot of confidence just going out there, having as many plays as I played,” said Watkins. “I probably played more than I was supposed to play, and I feel good about it. Just being out there on the field, I didn’t really care about catching the ball. I just wanted to feel good. Go out there, block a couple of plays, just get the feel of the game because at first I was kind of like, ‘This is my first game back, going against these good cornerbacks.’ After a while, I just kind of calmed down and let the game come to me.”

The receiver logged 25 of the team’s 55 offensive snaps for 45 percent of the total.

He’s been on the roster for two months now and Justin Hunter has made just seven receptions. Seven catches might not seem like much until you realize that four of them have gone for touchdowns.

Fifty-seven percent of Hunter’s catches have resulted in touchdowns making the tall, angular receiver as the team leader in receiving touchdowns this season.

Tyrod Taylor’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Hunter proved to be the game-winning points, but Hunter had to climb the ladder to make the catch.

“I guess he knows the background,” said Hunter of his fellow Virginia native. “I’ve got a 40-inch vertical and it came in handy. He trusted me on that play.”

One of the main reasons Hunter has not made much happen between the 20s is because he’s mainly on the field when the team reaches the red zone. As long as he keeps scoring that role is fine with Hunter.

“I’m not going to complain about it,” he said. “They keep coming like that, I’ll take them however they come. As long as we get in the red zone, it’s my zone.”

Here’s a look at some of the stats that stood out in the Bills win over Jacksonville.

100% – Bills red zone efficiency
6 – Bills penalty count that went for just 31 yards
0.6 – LeSean McCoy’s yards per carry average in the first half
8.9 – LeSean McCoy’s yards per carry average in the second half
5 – Number of lead changes in the second half
21, 22, 22 – Net yards for Bills three longest drives of first half
75, 75, 76 – Net yards for Bills three longest drives in second half

One could make a very easy argument that each of Buffalo’s last two wins were anything but pretty, but if you ask the Bills themselves they could care less.

The coaching staff and the players are just interested in stacking wins however they can, good, bad, pretty, ugly. They don’t care. They’ve adopted the late Al Davis’ philosophy, ‘Just win baby.’

“Happy to get a win,” said Richie Incognito. “Right now at this part of the season a win is a win. It could be ugly, it could be by 30 points, but you need to collect as many wins as possible and keep the approach with this thing one week at a time, one game at a time, one win at a time.”

“Every game is kind of survive and advance,” said Kyle Williams. “You’re just trying to scratch and claw and win a football game. The NFL is so tough. There are great players everywhere. (Jacksonville) is a talented football team. We did a lot of self-inflicted damage, but at the end of it, when it came down to it offensively and defensively, we made a few plays and they were enough to win the game.”